Stepping In or Over to Get What We Want!

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There’s an interesting story in the Sunday New York Times about the controversial situation regarding a Pakistani porter, who died after a fall on the notorious K2, regarded by most as the most challenging mountain on Earth. Obviously reaching K2’s peak requires massive skill, preparation and teamwork.

The story revolves around a steep ascent porter falling and dangling from a rope in a very dangerous, narrow and especially scary part of the ascent. The porter died after some failed attempts by various climbing groups to help. His body, as with many other tragic deaths on K2 or Everest, remains on the mountain. It is often too difficult to carry the bodies out and they become permanent, visible reminders of how deadly these climbs can be.

The controversy includes people literally stepping over the porter to achieve their objective (a world ascent record for a Norwegian climber/team), some discrimination undertones (would a western climber/porter be treated with more urgency?), inadequate equipment/inexperience of the porter, climber rivalry, route overcrowding and more.

The purpose of this blog is to invite each of us to consider our personal/organizational values based on the tricky balance between achieving results and the means to get there.

I’ve discussed this with numerous directors on public company boards and the most thoughtful in governance roles give serious considerations to the matter. Eg. Is laying off thousands to keep stock prices up really the right thing to do? Is a minimization of an environmental spill the right thing? Etc.

On a personal basis, is it ok to step over or on a rival in a vertical chase for a promotion? I’m not referring to healthy competition, the best professional athletes often help people who are competing for the same job while fiercely fighting to retain their positions.

My belief is that the guiding principle on these matters should be: “Put people and other humans FIRST. Help and never intentionally harm.” So, if in reality or metaphorically, a porter is hanging upside down, and their life is in danger, the immediate decision is to make it THE priority to try and save or help that person. Anything else is justification and rationalization. Any time we start blindly stepping on or over to get what we want at any cost, it’s a slippery slope to “guaranteed continual personal misery.” And guilt, shame and misery often work like compound interest, except it gets exponentially worse over time. Why would we do that to ourselves? For a world record that will eventually be broken?

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: It surprised me to learn that summiting K2 takes average climbers six to eight weeks from base camp. This is not a 14’er in Colorado that one does on a Saturday morning. I can comprehend how the world watches this situation from their respective “base camps,” and likely find it inhumane to observe what seems to be a collective display of gross negligence and disregard for human life. I also agree that we should “put people and other humans first, help and never intentionally harm.” That said, I humbly do not understand the rules in this situation. I also do not want to overlook justification and rationalization because I think there’s a macabre reality that mountaineers will, without fail, encounter death during these expeditions (certainly from the frozen, preserved bodies of former climbers, and the sobering truth that it could also be your own or your teammates).

What I dislike is the assumption that peak success (no pun intended) is only or often achieved by stepping over others with malicious, greedy, selfish or even evil intent. Says who? Usually someone at base camp, staring up with doubt that anyone can ascend to the summit fairly. Whatever we may be climbing in life is going to present hazards, challenges, and test us, however until we’re actually on the mountain, I don’t see anything useful about making judgements from the comforts of base camp.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Stepping In or Over to Get What We Want!

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